What a leader encompasses is up for debate, but you can be sure Rajon Rondo‘s tussle with Kris Humphries in last night’s Nets-Celtics game wasn’t it. Was Rondo’s retaliation on Humphries misguided loyalty and a sign he’s not yet ready to assume his role as the Celtics’ on-court leader, or is it just another reminder Rondo isn’t like everyone else?
This was supposed to be the year Rajon Rondo finally became the undisputed leader of the Boston Celtics. With the Big Three now the Big Two, and with those two, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, limited by a lack of cartilage in their knees from tens of thousands of minutes logged on the NBA hardwood, the spritely Rondo and his unique game were supposed to lead the Celtics back to the top of the Eastern Conference. Except they’re hovering around .500 on the season, and now Rondo might get suspended after last night’s fisticuffs (if you can call it that) in Boston.
The crew chief at last night’s game, Don Capers, released a statement after Rondo’s ejection:
“Rondo initiated everything that proceeded after the foul. And when he and Humphries go into the stands, they are involved in a fight. Fighting is an automatic ejection.”
Whether Rondo is suspended further depends on the league’s reviewing of the game tape, but Rondo should expect a call from Stu Jackson later today, and a longtime GM that spoke with Y! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, said, “I think the internal argument will be to make it three, because it spilled into the stands.” Regardless of whether a three-game suspension or a two-game suspension is handed down later today, this is the third time in a year Rondo has been suspended after his on-court emotions got the better of him. Those aren’t the leadership qualities the Celtics need right now as they’re struggling to remain relevant in the East after coming into the season with title aspirations.
Rondo isn’t new to the league’s suspension policy. He was suspended for throwing a ball at referee Sean Wright in February of this year, and for bumping referee Marc Davis in April. Doc Rivers joked after the game, “Yeah, but usually he goes after the refs. This time it was another guy, so that’s better, I guess.” All snark, Doc has to be disappointed, and you can be sure he watched what he said about the incident for fear of a more extended suspension handed down.
The Celtics need Rondo, so why did he go after Humphries?
One guess is loyalty, which is what a close friend of Rondo’s told Wojnarowski last night. The thinking there is that Rondo was protecting his big man, Kevin Garnett, who had been knocked off balance by Humphries during the play that preceded the fracas in the stands. Standing up for your teammates is one thing, but going after an opposing player so hard it spills over into the front row under the basket is taking it a bit far.
Also, the Celtics have plenty of other less important players who could soldier standing up for Garnett after Humphries’ hard foul. Even though the Malice in the Palace happened almost ten years ago, David Stern and Company are particularly acute to on-court violence that puts fans in danger. That’s not a good sign for Rondo over the next week when the Celtics will probably be without their floor general for at least two games. But the loss of Rondo in the interim isn’t the only consequence of last night’s actions.
Going into the game, Rondo was tied with John Stockton (at 37 games in a row) for second on the list of most consecutive regular season games with double-figure dimes. This was an impressive streak historically and it was clear from Rondo’s play in Detroit (where he recorded his tenth assist in the final minute of a blowout loss) he held the record dear to his heart. But with the suspension, Rondo failed to record 10 assists last night, and now that streak is snapped. Rondo may never get another chance like this to tie or break Magic Johnson‘s 46-game streak he would have bested in mid-December this year. While it’s true this is an individual accolade, and Rondo’s absence front the team is a much larger headache for his coaches and teammates, it’s still worth noting the streak is also done. He hurt his team and his place in history last night.
The nouns used to describe Rondo, a favorite of the indie basketball-writing crowd, are as variegated as the ways he can get the Celtics a bucket. But leader might not be one of them just yet. Whether this sticks in the minds of Stu Jackson and the officials, and whether they dole out more severe punishments for Rondo in the future, is a very real concern. More than that, it’s his now upcoming sabbatical from a team still trying to find itself that’s potential harmful. Yes, it’s early, and hopefully for Celtics fans we’ll all have forgotten about this infraction by the All-Star break, but it continues a disturbing trend. For a player as talented and smart (possibly one of the smartest guys in the league) as Rondo, he can do better than this. Celtics fans sure hope so.
Is Rondo a great leader sticking up for his teammates or a fool who got himself ejected and possibly suspended?
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